Hi everyone!
This post is the extension (and solution) of
'02 Volvo V70XC (Cross Country) Gearbox Gremlins (Amongst other things) and
AW55 finally died. Where to go from here?
So the short and sweet background info. My 2002 V70XC Cross Country (2.4T AWD) has a dead Aisin AW55 (like them all...), we rebuilt it to no avail. Possibly got killed by towing the car backwards (which I later found buried in an owners manual is strictly forbidden!).
Decided I didn't really care. I had rebuilt it twice already. Removed it three times. Valve body came out about 6 times. I just wasn't having any luck with it and considering their bad name, I wasn't sure of the continual reliability even if I were to get it working. Time for a manual I thought.
To date:
• Came across a sweet Volvo exchange M66 AWD for sale locally and jumped on it!! (Big thanks to Mark at Voldat for this unit!!)
• Purchased a used flywheel from an S40 with 35,000kms on it, so the dual mass mechanism is perfect, like new. Thanks Swedish Wreckers for removing this for me.
• I got the master cylinder and brake lines from a V40 at the wreckers, didn't pay much for them so won't lose much if they don't fit but thought Id grab whilst I saw.
• Just ordered all (except one) of the parts that are not included with Volvo exchange boxes, these are the little air pipes and ball catches and things that your normally transfer from the old gearbox. All the parts individually weren't worth much but did add up to be over $300. Huge shout out to David at Bilia Volvo (Parts) for spending hours researching and ensuring I would receive the correct parts. Considering this is something the dealers would never do themselves, I was blown away by the helpful support and advice I was given when it wasn't even guaranteed they would make a sale (if the prices would be ridiculous I wouldn't have bought them but they were reasonable).
Still on the hunt for many parts:
• Manual pedal box from a S60/V70. Apparently the V70 ones are a bit easier to deal with?
• On the hunt for the Spaceball shifter complete assembly with cables included preferably. According to VIDA, the LHD and RHD units are exactly the same (every part number is the same) the only different thing is the face on the centre console. So happy to go LHD provided I can source the RHD face separately, which I probably can from Volvo directly for $$$.
•
May need a master cylinder and clutch lines from S60/V70 P2 car if the ones from the V40 won't work.
• Will need a clutch and housing from an S40/V50 - Why not P2 car? Because the trans is for a P1, and the flywheel is for a P1. Volvo recommends I use a P1 clutch as the slave cylinders are different for P2 (something to do with length)
• Rear gearbox mount for the M66, might have to get one from the States/UK if can't find one here as I imagine it will be very expensive from Volvo, but I might email David and ask.
• From all my reading, the angle gear will bolt up fine and Ive even heard reports of people using their original auto driveshafts without problem but more on this later. New driveshafts from Volvo are about $700 each so trying to avoid that if I can...
• The other part I needed was $750 from Volvo so Im on the hunt for a used or cheaper unit. It is the intermediate lever that does the shifting. The S40/V50 uses a different lever that is reversed to the P2 cars. I have to get the lever and shifter cables to match. I would use a shifter from the P1 but it will not bolt up nicely to the P2...
The plan for getting the ECU and everything working:
The car requires feedback from the auto PNP switch, the engine needs to know the car is in park before it will let you activate the starter so options are:
• Run the starter on its own wiring loom. However this will also bypass my immobiliser so no thanks.
• Bypass the PNP switch and have a 12V direct signal to the PNP pickup on the ECU. However the opposite of the signal is used for the cruise. So running a direct wire all the time means the cruise control will not work as it thinks the car is in park.
• Use the switch on the clutch pedal that is used for the cruise to also operate the starter via a relay. The way this should work is when the clutch is depressed, the starter will be active, and the clutch released the cruise active.
• Send the ECU in to be retuned. It may need to be tuned as the manual tunes and auto tunes are different but Id like to see how it drives on the auto for a while. If it does go in, they will retune it for manual, better power and fuel efficiency (Ill get an upgrade whilst Im there), and Ill ask them to delete the line of code for the Park input requirement. This way I shouldn't need to bypass the PNP switch meaning cruise
should work by default.
• I happen to know a guy who knows a guy who can actually reinstall the original software on these things. If he has a copy of the original Volvo software for this motor in manual trim, I will use that, cheaper than an ECU tune and its Volvo stock.
• Beg the very friendly parts salesman Mr David at Bilia Volvo to install the original manual software for me.....
Hopefully the last 4 of those options, definitely the last 3 which are all software related, will enable the cruise to work. Also, it will hopefully get rid of the "Auto Transmission Service Urgent" message in the dash.
Stay tuned.... More to come. The actual conversion is booked in for early November when I go on my uni break. But buying more parts and testing more theories before then.
Jeremy
